Tire-making apparatus



Feb. 17, 1931. w, 3, STATE 1,792,778

TIRE MAKING APPARATUS Original Filed Sept. '7, 1928 Fig. 2

m fjwvwnto'c 55 win (15m YN/il/ m y -25 W? duo 0M1,

Patented Feb. 17, 1931 v UNITED STATES PATENT- orr ca WILL 0. STATE, OFAKRON, OHIO, ASSI GNOR TO THE GOODYEAR TIRE 8t RUBBER COM- IPANY, OFAKRON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO TIRE-MAKING AI'PABA'IUIS Originalapplication filed September 7, 1928, Serial No. 304,497.

. 1929. a Serial No. 370,064.

This invention relates to methods of and apparatus for constructing tirecasings, and it has particular relation tov a novel method of applying atread to a tire carcass and to an apparatus adapted to be employed inpracticing the metho This application is a division of applicationSerial No. 304,497, filed Sept. 7 1928.

It has'been proposed to vulcanize a tread to a tire carcass by utilizingelectrically energized heating devices, which are interposed between thetread and the carcass to cause vulcanization of the elements, and theyconstitute a part of the completed article.

The heating elements heretofore employed have been preformed by variousmethods prior to their application to the tire carcass, and areconsequently expensive. Furthermore, they are very bulky and by theirpresence between the tread and the carcass they cause a weak andimperfect union between thesetwo'elements. i I

One object of this invention is to obviate the above-mentioneddisadvantages by the provision of, a novelmethod which involves theapplication of a, continuouslength of electrical conductor directly tothe carcass of the tire, whereby no pre-forming of the electricalheating element "is necessary and the element serves to strengthenrather than to weaken the bond between the tread and the shown in Figure1;

tire carcass in the completed article.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and efiicientapparatus, whereby acontinuous' length of resistance wire may becircumferentially applied in spaced convolutions to a tire carcass toserve asa heating element for vulcanizing a tread thereto.

For a better understanding of the inven tion reference may now be had tothe accompanying drawings forming apart of the disclosure, wherein; 1Figure 1 is aside elevational view of an pparatus embodying certainfeaturesof the invention; Y i 1 Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view, ona larger scale, of a portion of the apparatus Figure 3 is a fragmentarydetail view, partially in section and partially in elevation,

' tated;

Divided and this application filed June 11,

illustrating a mechanism for moving the wire-supplying means as thechuck is ro- Figure dis a fragmentary detail View, on a larger scale, ofa portion of the structure shown in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the manner in which thetread and tire are confined for the vulcanizin operation.

The method herein described involves the mounting of a tire carcass forrotation about its axis, the application of a gum strip to the carcasscircumferentially, and the application of an electrical conductor ofcomparatively high resistance arranged in spaced convolutions about thecircumference of the carcass.

A semi-cured tread is then applied to the carcass and is bound theretoby a fabric wrapping strip. An airbag disposed within the carcass isinflated to provide the necessary pressure, and the heating element,composed of the spaced convolutions of resistan e wire, is energized tocause vulcanization :of the tread to the tire carcass.

The apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings, broadly considered,involves a supporting stand having a shaft ournaled therein whichcarries a tire-supporting chuck. A wlre-supplylng mechanism 1s movablysecured to an extending portion of the stand and means is provided formoving'the wiresupplying mechanism axially of the tire carcass, that is,in a direction parallel to the axisv of the carcass, as the latter isrotated. This movement causes the wire to be wound in spacedconvolutions upon the carcass.-

' In the accompanying drawings a stand 10 rotatably supports a shaft 12which haskeyed to one end thereof an adjustable tire chuck 13. A motor14 secured to the base of the stand 10 serves to rotate the shaft12through the agency of a chain 15. trained about a sprocket wheel 16 onthe shaft of the motor and a sprocket wheel .17 rigidly secured to i theshaft 12. r

As shown, a tire carcass 18 and an airbag 19 disposed therein aremounted in the usual manner upon a pair of coacting rings 21 which aresecured together by bolts 22 traversing the inwardly extending flangesof the rings. Registering grooves 23 are provided in the rings 21 toaccommodate the valve stem 24 of the airbag. A plurality of arms 25,threaded into bosses 26 extending radially outwardly from the hub 27 ofthe chuck 13, are provided with hand wheels 28 whereby they may beadjusted into and out of engagement with the rings 21 upon which thetire carcass 18 is mounted.

An extension 29 integral with or otherwise rigidly secured to the stand10 projects horizontally therefrom and has bolted thereto a pair ofspaced upright ournal members 31. An'arm' 32 is 'slidably carried uponthe extension 29 by means of a rod 33 which is rigidly secured at itsends to the respective journal members 31 and traverses an aperturedboss 34 disposed centrally of the arm 32. A pin 35 extending at rightangles from the arm 32 serves rotatably to support a reel 36 ofresistance wire 37, and a cotter pin 38 traversing the pin 35 preventsaccidental displacement of the reel 36.

The end of the arm 32 remote from the pin 35 is formed with an aperturedboss 39 upon which a sleeve 4L1 is rotatably mounted and maintained inposition by means of a nut 42 threaded on the boss. The wire 37 in itspassage from the reel 36 to the circumference of the tire carcass 18 iswrapped aplurality of times about the sleeve 41 and lies in groove 43provided for this purpose on the sleeve 11. A shaft 44- is rotatablymounted in suitable bearings provided in the re spective journal members31 and traverses the bosses 39 of the arm 32. A chain 16 trained aboutsprocket wheels 47 and 48 which are keyed to the shafts 12 and 44-,respectively, serves to rotate the shaft 4ft when the shaft 12, andconsequently the tire carcass 18 carried thereby, is rotated.

A pivot pin 49 extending from the exterior to the interior of the boss39 has pivotally connected to its inner end a follower 51 which isdisposed in a double thread 52 formed upon the central portion of theshaft 44:. Rotation of the shaft 14C causes movement of the arms 32longitudinally of the shaft 44 by reason of the arrangement of thefollower 51 within. the threads 52.

The provision of a double thread causes the arm to reverse'its directionof movement automatically when the follower reaches either end of thedouble thread 52. The sprockets 17 and 18, as shown, are of such sizethat the carcass 18 is rotated through approximately completerevolutions "while the arm travels from one end of the double thread tothe other. It will be observed that provision of this particular feedfor the wire-supplying mechanism obviates the necessityof resetting themechanism for operation upon each tire carcass. lvhen the wire hasbeenapplied to one carcass and the .in, is mounted upon the pair ofrings 21 which are secured together in the usual manner by the bolts 22.This assembly is then operatively positioned upon the chuck 13 bymanipulation of the hand wheels 28. Although the tire carcass, beingcomposed of frictioned fabric elements, is capable of receiving andholding the resistance wire as it is wound thereon from the reel 36, itis preferable first to apply a gum strip 53 to the portion of thecarcass 18 which is to contact with the tread 5 1.

A portion of the wire 37 spaced from the end thereof is embeddedadjacent one edge of the strip 53 and the motor 1 1 is energized tocause rotation of the carcass 18, together with movement of the arm 32axially of, and in synchronism with, the rotation of the carcass.

. After the tread hasbeen applied to the gum strip 53, which has theresistance wire 37 embedded therein, the carcass 18, the tread 51, theairbag l9 and the rings 21 are removed in assembled relation from thechuck and a binder 55 is wrapped thereabout to retain the tread andcarcass in proper assembled relation.

The ends 56 of the heating wire 37 are then connected to a source 57 ofelectrical current which results in suiiicient heating of the spacedconvolutions to insure proper vulcanization of the tread to the carcass.It is preferable to increase the inflation in the air bag slightlyduring this operation in order to insure the proper degree of pressurefor the vulcanizing operation.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that a novel method ofapplying a tread to a tire carcass has been provided which is verysimple, inexpensive and eflioient. The invention also provides a novelmechanism whereby an electrical heating element may be quickly appliedto a rotating tire carcass in a novel manner.

Although I have illustrated only one form which may be employed in thepractice of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that the invention is not so limited, but that the embodiment shownis capable of various minor modifications, and that other embodimentsmay be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention orfrom the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A tire -building apparatus comprising a support, a shaft journaled inthe support, a tire chuck secured to the shaft, an apertured armslidably mounted intermediate its ends on the support, a reel ofmaterial rotatably carried'by the arm, a second shaft journaled .in thesupport and traversing the arm, means for rotating the two shafts, andcoacting means on the arm and the second shaft whereby the arm is causedto. move in a direction parallel to the axis of the second shaft whenthe latter is rotated.

2. A tire-building apparatus comprising a support, a shaft j ournaled inthe support, a tire chuck secured to the shaft to rotate therewith, anarm slidably mounted intermediate its ends on the support, a reel ofmaterial car ried by one end of thearm and disposed substantially inalignment with the chuck, an apertured boss formed on the other end ofthe arm, a second shaft journaled in the support and traversing theboss, a double thread on the second shaft, a follower carried by theboss and disposed within the thread, and means for rotating the shafts.

3. In combination, a tire building chuck, guideways disposed adjacentthe chuck in parallelism with the axis thereof, a carriage slidablymounted upon the guideways, a projecting pin mounted upon the carriageand constituting means for rotatably supporting a reel of wire, meansupon the carriage for guiding the wire from the reel to the chuck, andmeans for actuating the carriage along the guideways when thechuck isrotated.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. 1

Signed at Akron, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio, U. S. A.,this 10th day of June, 1929.

WILL 0. STATE.

